The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1887-06-02
OF ACTION.
Advantages Of United Effort Among Com
mercfal Agriculturists.

Advantages of United Effort Among Com
mercial Agriculturists.
Most persons have noticed that indi-
viduals engaged in the same kind of
business in a large city are likely to
congregate m one quarter till they give
it a distinctive character. Wall street,
New York, contains most of the brok.
ers' offices of the entire city. Another
short street is almost entirely occupied
by the manufacturers of and dealers in
jewelry. All the newspaper offices are
run together. In this city one entire
street is given up to the general COM
mission business. Nearly all the grain
commission houses are in the imniedi-i
ate vicinity of the board of trade build
ing, while the dealers in cattle, hogs,
and sheep are about the Union stock
yards. The great manufacturers of
clothing are close together, though the
quarter they occupy possesses no
special advantages for this branch of
manufacture and trade. AS the city
becomes older, if it escapes great fires,
every kind of business will be likely to
concentrate in some particular locality.
Individuals, firms. and corporations
engaged in the same department of
manufacturing or trade are, of course,
engaged in sharp competitions, but
they find it to their advantage to be
close together. Each likes to see and
know what all the others are doing.
Each, too, derives considerable advan-
tage from the others. There is much
comfy between, rivals in any branch of
business. They not infrequently ex-
change goods and accommodate those
who happen to have a small stock Of
some common and standard article.
They are of mutual value in giving in
formation about the reliability of per-
son who come to buy goods. Gus
toners, too, derive advantage by hav-
ing dealers in the same class of goods
located near each other. Country
merchants are likely to conduct them
selves as city women do when they go
out shopping" If they do not find
just what they want in one place they
go to another, and steps and time are
saved if similar establishments are in
the immediate neighborhood.
Observation also shows that persons
engaged in any department of COM
mercial farming, fruit-growing or
stock-breeding are more likely to pros
per if they are surrounded by those
who are engaged in the same pursuit.
Enthusiasm is inspired by numbers.
There is pleasure as well as business
advantage in the companionship of
those engaged in the same calling.
Only a person possessed of great ability,
knowledge, pluck, energy and perse-
dertaking if he is isolated from those
who are engaged in the same work.
He is obliged to study every thing out
by himself, while he derives no benefit
from the experience of them. There is
no one within a reasonable distance
whom he can consult if he is in trouble
or in want of special information. He
finds great difficulty in procuring suit
able help. a so few are acquainted
with what he is doing. He is obliged
to educate persons before their labor is
profitable. A man may be n good gem
eral Farmland, but may not know how
to shear sheep, raise tobacco plants,
ure hops or harvest broom-corn. Out
side of old dairy districts it is difficult
to procure good mixers. Green hands
are awkward and slow in picking small
fruits, punching asparagus or %blanching
celery.
A sheep-raiser by himself generally
has a hard time. Most of his neighbors
will keep dogs that are fond of muttons,
and think it is fun to worry sheep, but
will not run after a fox and will flee
from a wolf. If a dozen men in the
same neighborhood keep large focks of
sheep they will generally procure the
enactment of a dog law and will see
that it is enforced. They will resort to
measures hat will result in reducing
the canine population of the vicinity to
the smallest number that can do the
legitimate business of the neighborhood.
They will unite in killing wolves and
other destructive animals. They will
make a home market for wool to which
buyers will come. A generous feeling
of rivalry will result in bringing up the
quality of wool in all the flocks. They
will practice economy in changing
bucks. They will hold meetings and
dicuss the merits of different breeds of
sheep, and wild finally find the one that
is best suited to their locality. Before
many years they will gain a reputation
not only for their wool, but for their
breeding stock. This will attract buy
ers of bucks and ewes to take the places
where ~sheep-raising is a leading indus
try, Large buyers of breeding stock,
especially of sheep, like to go to a
place where they can obtain a carload,
and where they can make a judicious
selection of animals from several
f1ocks.
If a nan has sufficient land, capital
and help, and enough COWS and build
ings, he can establish a dairy-farm and
make a ucces of it, even if all his
neighbors are engaged in grain-raising
or the production of meat, fruit, to-
bacco OF wool. But if he has not very
large capital, he will be likely to find
milk production or the manufacture of
butter and cheese improbable if none
of his neighbors are engaged in dairy
ing. The milk of about five hundred
COWS is wanted to warrant the cstab-
lishment of a commercial Or co-opcra-
tive creamery OF cheese factory. Unless
a man has a very large farm he will
not find it convenient or economical
to keep more than twenty-five mich
cows. AS this is the case, concert of
action between twenty farmers living
within a radius of about two miles of
the factory will be necessary to insure